Additional Information

Tracing the Street Dogs' story is no easy task. One thing that all parties can agree on is where it all started. At a time when the music scene teems with mediocrity and fashion-oriented bands that are simultaneously from nowhere and of everywhere, maintaining a sense of roots, politics, and place has become this band's calling card, a way of demonstrating to the world that they most decidedly stand for something.

The Street Dogs, it is somewhat of an understatement to say, are from Boston. Mike McColgan's name was already indelibly linked with the city, as he had already made his name at the helm of the Dropkick Murphys, the standard-bearers of Boston punk during the late '90s. McColgan paired with bassist Johnny Rioux to record what was to be a one-off album of new material, Savin Hill (2003). Upon arriving at the venue for the album release show, however, the band discovered a sell-out crowd with lines stretching around the corner. "Everybody was singing the songs," Rioux recalls, while McColgan adds, "the feedback we got from the very first show was electrifying." After releasing that first album on Crosscheck Records, the band embarked on a regional tour alongside the likes of Flogging Molly. It was in a conversation at a truck stop during one of these tours that McColgan and Rioux decided to make the Street Dogs a full-time endeavor.

Four more albums, numerous U.S. and international tours, a deal with Hellcat Records, and a few lineup changes later, the Street Dogs have grown from a local band with a small but dynamic following to a nationally-recognized act with a sizeable fan base in both the US and abroad. With each subsequent release (2005's Back to the World, 2006's Fading American Dream, 2008's State of Grace, and 2010's Street Dogs), the band has employed an increasingly broad range of songwriting and content, emphasizing evermore that this is a group of musicians who adamantly and unapologetically have things to say. The Street Dogs are ready to graduate into the major leagues of headlining tours and high-profile albums ... if they haven't already. Watch out.